It’s Caturday! Here’s Some Webcomics about Cats

It’s Caturday! Behold the mathematical proof that my cats are eating away at my sanity!

XKCD gets it right here. I devolve into a series of giggling squees mixed with some very interesting names for my fuzzballs.

As an animal lover and guardian of two, very naughty-yet-adorable cats, I really enjoy the occasional webcomic to brighten my day and laugh in the cat-ness that is… Well… cats. I hope you enjoy this list and check out some of them.

  • Lackadaisy – The artistic style of this comic is fantastic. I really like the sepia tones and the tight focus on the Prohibition era.
  • Clan of the Cats – A shapeshifting witch is at the heart of this comic, so if you like fantasy you might want to check it out.
  • Meow – In terms of artistic style, I really like the use of color and clean lines in this one. This is a more traditional comic in terms of content geared for cat owners.
  • Kat-Nap – If you need a silly, and you like satire, then this is a good one to try
  • Two Lumps: The Adventures of Eben and Snooch – I’ve been a long-time reader of this webcomic because I have two lumps of my own.
  • Laugh-Out-Loud Cats – Love the style of the artwork in this comic about cats being hobos. The characters are drawn in a throwback style to the comics of old, but the background in the strips are sometimes mixed with other styles and textures.
  • Doctor Cat – The terrible, horrible, non-existent attention span of a cat against the backdrop of a hospital? Hard to resist. Good use of color and bold lines.
  • Cat versus Human – A webcomic that’s more about the cat-loving owner than anthropomorphisizing her cat. (Yeah, that’s spelled wrong. I know. I know.)
  • Cat and Girl – Last but certainly not least, I had to mention this webcomic for its popularity and its well-known artist, Dorothy Gambrell.

Happy Caturday!

June 4, 2011
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Fighting the Seriousness of Writing with Silly Stupid

I don’t know about you, but I get serious’d out. Yep, there’s absolutely no other phrase for it. Just out. I was reading some of my old posts the other day, and I was laughing at how oh-so-very-professional they were. To some extent, they had to be due to what was going on at the time, but I’m straying from that and mixing it up a bit.

Just as one example of how I’m getting serious’d out, is when I think about the publishing industry. The only thing that I’ll ever bet money on, is that you never know where an artist — including yourself — will end up. It’s impossible to bet on what will happen in terms of success, because you don’t know. Even then, it’s all relative. Even then.

One of the ways I’m coping with the uncertainty of the industry, is to simply sit back, ignore the news and laugh when I can. I feel there are so many serious discussions, so many things people worry about, it’s not healthy to stress about it so much that it creates writer’s avoidance behavior. The news has no bearing on my work. The only thing that changes for me is my path, and I’m always adapting/shifting/changing/growing. Always. What I don’t lose sight of, however, is the next story.

I was going to offer sage advice, but instead I will offer you two things: an XKCD strip that’s extremely relevant and Sushi Cat for some silly stupid fun! Because really, silly stupid fun is a good remedy for super seriousness.

Sushi Cat is a blast if you haven’t played it. You guide the cat through sushi-filled goodness to ensure he’s got a full belly. Along the way, he falls in love with a stuffed kitty and faces his nemesis: Bacon Dog. There’s the original Sushi Cat, Sushi Cat: Honeymoon and Sushi Cat 2. It is addicting, but the levels move pretty quickly.

By the way, here’s the strip I mentioned. Note the last panel. I defer to XKCD‘s wise, wise words of wisdom which are applicable in any field, for any man, woman or child.

Marie Curie Sage on XKCD WebComic

June 3, 2011
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Missing Heroines, Romantic Tension and Doctor Who

Yesterday, I wrote a post about how we need to dig deeper to find a heroic heart. It’s timely, since I’m anxiously awaiting the debut of a few short stories out in the lands of publishing. It’s also relevant for another reason: just got back from WisCon and finished watching Season 5 of Doctor Who.

It’s really difficult for me to read books without tearing apart their structure; it’s becoming more challenging to do that with television shows and movies, too. I can relate to the many sides of the writer’s struggle — fulfilling the requirements of whatever format the story is in, watching screenplays get tweaked according to the producer’s needs, meeting IP guidelines.

However… It still blows my mind that here it is — 2011 — and we still struggle with painting “alternative” heroes: people of color, gay characters and, in many cases, strong non-bitchy women. In my article, I talked about how physical descriptions shouldn’t limit a writer, because the hero/heroine’s journey is about overcoming a limitation of some sort. If anything, I don’t understand why we don’t see more diversity in a heroic character, not less.

Enter my frustration with the female characters in Season 5 of Doctor Who. The Doctor is an iconic hero: like Superman, he doesn’t change. To understand him, to know him, I try to identify with the characters around him. I cannot, in any way shape or form, relate to Amy Pond. The actress herself isn’t the challenge; I don’t believe her character’s story. I cannot buy that she has fallen into extreme hero worship, where the Doctor has become her own personal Jesus, yet she still managed to fall in love with Rory. She’s a character that is only important because of the things that happen around her. She has absolutely no personal power of her own, regardless of what the Doctor says.

What I felt made the David Tennant era so believable, was the sharp contrast in the moments when he was having fun and the moments when he was totally and utterly alone. Donna Noble was my favorite companion, because there was no “love” there. They were best friends. I understood that she couldn’t physically handle the power she took into her system, and I was okay with that.

I feel that romance is Season 5’s biggest weakness. The minute the Doctor’s Companion starts to go down that path of “My Doctor,” it all falls apart because we know — as the audience — there is absolutely no chance in hell of that happening. There’s no romantic tension. There’s no conflict. There’s a very powerful, very suave, unattainable man that no one — with the possible exception of River Song in this season — can ever be with. Even in the episode where the Doctor is a lodger, he still gets the near-immediate attention of Sophie and the infatuation builds, leaving the “couch potato” out in the cold. I don’t buy it when Sophie flips the switch when Craig professes his love for her either.

I know it sounds like I’m being harsh, but I enjoy the show immensely and recognize how difficult it might be to write this series. The Doctor is a problematic character to write into a romance, because there is a sort of meta-storytelling tactic going on in each episode. We know he’ll never fall in love, so why introduce love interests in the first place? Romantic tension would be something that could be done, provided we believe there’s a chance — even a glimmer of hope — that he might end up in the happily never after with another character.

The happily never after is something I feel the show could take risks with, but it doesn’t. The continuous storyline about the crack in Amy’s wall is really where Season 5 begins and ends. I just wish there was more to emotionally relate to without being pulled out of the story completely. I still like and enjoy Doctor Who, but there’s something missing from Season 5: a heroine I can relate to.

June 2, 2011
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Peanut Butter and Frosting, Starve Better and a Few Links

Okay. So one of the benefits of being an “adult,” is that you can have whatever you want for breakfast. Since there are only so many bowls of crispy chocolate flakes I can eat, peanut butter plus chocolate frosting is the equivalent of taking a cruise to a tropical island in the middle of winter. Yes, you may believe that this concoction may be a poor substitute for Nutella, but you would be mistaken. NOM NOM NOM.

But I digress. I got my copy of Starve Better: Surviving the Endless Horror of the Writing Life in the mail yesterday. It’s a book written by Nick Mamatas that’s full of tips (and non-tips) that, quite frankly, are really relevant for today’s writer. It’s pragmatic and blunt and the unpopular stance, because it isn’t a bunch of “this’ll make you really happy” floofie crap about how writing is all sunshines and rainbows. Quite frankly, this is exactly what aspiring writers need to hear because there’s a market for writing advice, and it’s not always coming from an experienced source. While Mamatas’s take on many topics is blunt, he can be. Like any other book or article out there, I’d say take what you want and leave the rest, but his logic is sound on a lot of the tips.

I also received my first issue of Bead and Button magazine. I’ve got a few projects I’ve been working on at the moment, but this’ll be good to try some new techniques. My style is more modern than frou frou, but the biggest battle is learning the stitches. For that, I can deal with a couple of flowers and crystals before I move on to skulls. Muwahahaha.

Anyhoo, gotta fly. We’re going to go see Thor yet again this evening, and I can’t wait. Who’s my favorite thunder god? THOR.

June 1, 2011
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[My Guest Post] Difference Between Marketing and Selling Your Books

This month at the How To Write Shop, I talk about the difference between marketing and selling your books. I got the idea for this post after my discussions at WisCon, because a lot of authors are starting to take on more of a retailer role than a marketing one. Internet retail is a whole ‘nother ball of wax, and I feel that it’s good to make the decision whether or not that’s something you want to do.

Here’s a quote from the article:

I look at marketing as a way to build awareness of yourself and your work. Sales, on the other hand, is focused on the exchange of money for goods and services. Although they often go hand-in-hand, they’re two different things. Saying “buy my book” isn’t a marketing technique; it’s the hard sell. Telling your readers what your book is about, on the other hand, falls under that marketing umbrella. –SOURCE: Difference between Marketing and Selling your Books at the How To Write Shop

Hop on over there and give it a read. While you’re on the site, be sure to check out other articles, too. There are several new contributors and they are broadening the scope of the site. If you’re even remotely interested in becoming a professional author or want to relate to those who are circumnavigating the upheaval in the industry, check it out.

June 1, 2011
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